In Ireland, fewer than 1 in every 250 school girl rides a bike to school. This is despite the fact that bikes are an environmentally friendly and healthy mode of transportation. While the number of boys who cycle to school has been steadily increasing over the years, the number of girls remains relatively static. So why aren’t more girls cycling?
An Taisce is an Irish heritage charity that is working to address this issue. Their campaign is called #andshecycles aims at exploring the root cause of what makes teenage girls hesitant in commuting to their schools and colleges on bicycles. It was important to find out what was the cause, so the campaign involved interviewing many students, teachers, parents, and psychologists to get a solid grasp of what was going on.
One reason may be that teenage girls feel unsafe cycling on busy roads. They may also feel self-conscious about their appearance, especially if they don’t have the right equipment or clothing. Additionally, some girls may simply not have access to a bike.
The most common causes turn out to be peer-pressure, self-consciousness and harassment, which makes girls reluctant. Many girls said they feel ‘judged and intimidated’ by boys and men when cycling to school.
Image: Sticky Bottle
Many young girls expressed their concerns with the school uniforms which made it difficult for girls to bike. Some added on a lighter note that the helmets and high vis jackets can also scare off people from riding bicycles. It usually collides with the fashion statements. However, Caitriona Buggle from the campaign expressed that the addition of colourful helmets could make a statement that ‘Safety can be Sexy.’
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that more needs to be done to encourage Irish girls to cycle to school. The #andshecycles campaign is a step in the right direction, and with more awareness and education, hopefully more girls will soon be cycling to school safely and confidently.
An Taisce’s campaign #andshecycles was launched at Dublin’s Science Gallery. Many young girls attended the campaign and it went viral on social media.
The campaign’s panelists stressed the fact that girls needed more role models on wheels. It is necessary for an active and healthy lifestyle. Young girls were encouraged to get back on their bicycles.
Sylia Thompson from The Irish Times published an article (and video) on this issue and reported Jane Hackett, manager of the Green Schools travel programme as saying: “We have been working with schools around the country to increase cycling numbers for over ten years. Because of this work we realised that although teen girls wanted to cycle the numbers weren’t increasing at the same levels as their male counterparts. So we asked why, and #andshecycles was born.”
Let’s hope the #andshecycles campaign gets more Irish girls on bikes!
I’ve been missing meeting with other like-minded writer-researchers. So August this year, I had an idea to form a ‘student club’ where we could meet to talk about writing and share skills and hold events that helped us become better writers and researchers.
Well… I pitched the idea to three friends, and we made it happen!
We called it the Research & Write Studio or RAW for short.
(Actually, we called it GAWLERS first… see more below)
I just found out that RAW has been award Griffith’s New Club of the Year!
Woohoo! I am so proud!
A big thanks to all the inaugural members for trusting in me!
And an especially heartfelt thanks to Janis, Rebecca and Jenny for all their great input and effort in forming the Executive Commitee with me.
You guys all rock!
See below for more about RAW.
Nina (R) with other Griffith Uni Club Awards Friends.
Origins
Like most other educational institutions, Griffith University life and work changed profoundly in response to the recent COVID-19 ‘educational scramble’. Soon after moving online in April 2019, EPS HDR candidate Nina Ginsberg established an online ‘Show Up & Write’ space for students she knew as a way of staying connected, focused and productive. These sessions were regularly attended and participants said how useful it was to have a collegial space to talk, share, and create academic work. In break times, we asked questions, offered support, discussed our writing, and gave suggestions for improvements in a low-stakes and impactful way.
While Griffith responded to COVID and snap lockdowns by reducing staffing, decreasing services, and suspending many student professional development and networking opportunities until further notice, our study group flourished. As word of mouth about our group passed to others, ‘new’ people joined from all over Griffith. It was clear there was an immediate need for this group and so in June 2021, the main proponents (Nina, Janis, Rebecca and Jenny) decided to formalise this opportunity and open it up for all Griffith students and candidates. We call the group Griffith ‘Research and Writers Studio’, or RAW for short.
What we do
We are an online club bound by our commonality of academic work, research, and writing. Our club aims (see at end) articulate our ethics, commitment and focus. RAW members include undergraduates, postgraduates, and professional teaching staff who are also studying at Griffith. Our members come from all Griffith locations not only in Brisbane (26) and Queensland (10), but all over Australia (6) and around the world (6). We are proud to be a truly transdisciplinary group, transcending cultures, hobbies, degrees and programs, ages, gender, ability, locations, backgrounds, and personalities. This plurality in membership adds vibrancy, interest and new skills we would not otherwise have access to at Griffith elsewhere.
Editing Heptathlon by RAW President Nina Ginsberg. November 2021.
What makes us exciting
We began with 28 inaugural members in August 2021. This increased to 48 members in 6 weeks by end of September 2021 with no advertising, further attesting to the popularity and need for this club. At a time when many other clubs have slowed activities, RAW has expanded in response to member needs, thus standing out as a unique, reliable and reassuring hub for Griffith students and candidates in progressing their university work.
What makes us so exciting as a new club at Griffith is that we are a cheap, open access and inclusive club for all. We are also lockdown proof, independent of university-dictated content and wholly needs-based and our events are run by RAW members for RAW members – meaning members gain valuable presenting and leadership experience. We are a grass roots club that continues to grow organically and is responsive to member’s needs.
One of RAW’s greatest features is that we are not defined by, or exclusive to, any particular educational discipline, cultural background, sporting or personal interest. On the contrary, RAW incorporates and celebrates disparate characteristics, harnessing these valuable differences in diversity collectively, so members collaboratively learn with other members, not learn about each other as separate from others in most other contexts. And it has been a smashing success!
Our membership includes Griffith researchers and writers who are First Nations, international students and speakers of languages other than English, mature aged and returning to study, first-in family, differently-abled and adaptive learners, part-timers, single parents and many others – including a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Being online means we are not bound by campus restrictions or scheduling, so RAW operates anywhere (across all Griffith campuses, remotely, online and for those on-campus as well) and at any time (for example, we have a 24-7 open online, drop-in ‘study’ space where local, national and international members meet). This enables multiple opportunities for social connections as people study and work from a myriad of locations.
As well as study group spaces, we offer a range of writing, editing and university skills workshops (see some examples below) which can be joined virtually in real time or accessed asynchronously via recordings. This means our events are equitable and accessible to all members. Our club allows for networking and skill sharing and provides opportunities to broaden minds and sharpen transferable capabilities. We have an active Teams site that is our communications, events and resource space where we also notify members of other (external) writing and editing events of interest so members can expand skills and contacts within and beyond the RAW cohort.
Screenshot of RAW’s Get ahead for T2 classes (Session 2): Rediscover your motivation! July 2021. This session was run by RAW Vice President, Wiradjuri woman & Griffith PhD Candidate, Ms. Jennifer Campbell
What is our future?
Our vision is to allow the club to grow and to continue to offer a range of academic skill workshops not provided elsewhere, while providing online participation and facilitation. We seek to connect people with our overarching purpose of enhancing our research and writing capabilities.
Some 2021 RAW events already held:
Show Up & Write Space – 24/7, online, drop-in study space.
Early Bird Study Sessions – every weekday 5am -7.30 am.
Inaugural Annual General Meeting.
RAW Coffee & Chat: Member Drop-in Meet-and-Greet. (1-hr)
Get ahead for T2 classes (Session 1): Leveraging course profiles. (1-hr)
Get ahead for T2 classes (Session 2): Rediscover your motivation! (1-hr)
Get ahead for T2 classes (Session 3): Start(ing) class right. (1-hr)
The Dark Academy (and how to survive it). (2-hr symposium)
Getting Feedback on Thesis Writing (HDRs). (1-hr)
Goal Setting Bootcamp. (half day intensive)
How trees help us write better sentences by RAW President Nina Ginsberg. December 2021.
Research and Writer’s Studio Aims
Aim 1. To present academic writing and research in influential ways to diverse audiences. Develop and grow fundamental and advanced academic, writing and research skills and experience through a range of online and in-person opportunities. These include exclusive focused study groups, writing, editing and specialist workshops, writing process forums, accountability writing groups, skill drill sessions, special events and writing retreats and targeted academic skill sessions. These events consolidate and extend transferable oral, written and visual communication skills underpinned by positivity, engaged expression and critical evaluation of information, argument and opinion. Applicable for all levels of study across all disciplines.
Aim 2. To build confident, competent, and collaborative identities.
An inclusive and safe space to share university, writing and researching experiences. Instead of the usual teach-to model, this club moves towards a learn-with approach. Members are X to pursue their own academic and professional goals in ways that are productive, thoughtful, engaged and self-directed. Supporting a passion for lifelong learning through achievement, capacity and mastery. Provide opportunities for leadership and active engagement. Connect members with additional editing, proofreading, mentoring and/or other academic support services if needed. Interaction between Ph.D, Masters, Honours and undergrads is encouraged. To build relationships within and beyond the physical campus by establishing a collaborative and diverse community of practice.
Aim 3. To extend, challenge and share innovative, creative, ethical, and positive writing-research-action.
Provide members with opportunities to develop their own personal and professional goals. Respecting and strengthening engagement with First Nations, cross-cultural, and individual or cultural diversity people, culture, perspectives and lifeworlds. This club adheres to an ethical code of conduct based on compassion, positive change and social and environmental responsibility and action. This club supports members to be intrepid and innovative in their writing and research endeavours to initiate, develop and implement new ideas and projects.
Regular readers of this blog know my bicycles-for-education PhD fieldwork was with the local people and riders of Lunsar, Sierra Leone.
The Lunsar Cycling Team has been gaining increasing attention recently, especially with the upcoming, ever popular annual Tour de Lunsar cycling event.
I was delighted to see AFRICAP is a Tour de Lunsar event supporter. AFRICAP cycling caps was founded by Hammer (from Sierra Leone!) who started it out of a love for cycling and a desire to bring something special to the sport.
Africap was created to merge two passions: African prints and cycling. Cycling caps are not traditionally made with African prints, so Africap saw an opportunity to change that. They create beautiful and stylish cycling caps made from traditional African fabrics.
Image: Africaps
Ankara Prints
Each Africap product is made with a unique African print. The prints are sourced from all over the continent, so no two products are exactly alike.
These cycling caps are handcrafted from Ankara material which is a traditional African fabric. Ankara textiles are wax-printed cotton fabrics commonly used across West Africa and each region has its own distinctive design. The material itself is great as it is very light, airy and absorbent which helps keeps riders cool.
Each cap is named after a particular region that the fabrtic is from. Africaps are not factory made, but released in limited editions so are collector’s items and highly sought after.
Image: Africaps
There are so many different African prints and textiles, it can be hard to know where to begin. One of the things that makes African prints so special is the range of colours and designs. Whether you’re looking for something bright and bold or more subdued and traditional, there’s an African print out there for you.
Ankara prints are unique for many reasons. One reason is that they are handmade. African prints are also usually made with bright, bold colors that reflect the vibracy and diversity of African cultures. Ankaras often have geometric patterns that are created by both hand-painting and block printing. African prints usually have a lot of symbolism. For example, certain animals may be used to represent different ethnic groups or ideas. All of these factors combine to create some truly beautiful and unique fabrics.
Image: Africaps
Africap’s STORE has a range of musettes and their groovy cycling caps are named after the regions the material comes from –such as Bo, Ngor, Cocody, Abduja, Odu and Regent.
I was super impressed to see that Africap supports sustainable practices and that no plastic materials are used during production or sales cycles. I can see why these caps have quickly become a favorite among cyclists in Africa and for those ‘in the know’ internationally.
Africaps is working to expand its reach beyond Africa, and has already partnered with several international cycling teams.
The company’s mission is to promote cycling in Africa and to help African cyclists reach their potential. And it was great to see them doing this with their renewed support of Tour de Lunsar 2022.
See more about Africaps and Hammer in Sylvie D’Aoust’s video below.
The annual Chicks in the Sticks event was coming up and I was registered. This year, I wanted to continue conversations about the unbearable whiteness of cycling and lack of support/inclusion of First Nations riders, decolonising MTB, celebrating First Nation experiences and better recognising First Nations connection to country at MTB events.
CITS is Queensland’s biggest, annual all-female 3hr Enduro mountain bike event. Those who know me know I like to bring the fun – so a theme bike and outfit was in order, but not anything mainstream.
Chicks in the Sticks – Annual All-female 3 hr Enduro Event
At this event, there is a big emphasis on fun, inclusion, and ‘giving it a go’, so there is lots of costumes and colour: – there is a profusion of ladybirds, bees, rainbow tutus, Where’s Wallys amongst the more ‘serious’ riders.
I wanted to continue the good vibes, but also raise awareness of First Nations experiences. But ‘Decolonise MTB’ was not the right approach for this event.
So I came up with an idea to promote First Nations experiences in a way that was positive and clear, but not confrontational. My idea consisted of a costume that was comfortable to ride it that matched a uniquely decorated bike highlighting my key theme.
To bring my vision to life, I enlisted the help of two incredible women to make my idea happen. A massive thank you to both Alison and Nix for their collaboration!
My Outfit
The outfit centred mainly on a custom-made T-shirt. This was the visually impactful piece and meant I could still ride safety and comfortably. Alison is a creative mate who I have collaborated with on a number of previous projects, including prepping for Bike Hack 19. Alison was integral in producing my T-shirt vision.
The T-shirt was a bright yellow and had connecting circles and indigenous artwork prints on the front and the words ‘celebrating’ over the same indigenous print panel on the back. I specifically chose ‘celebrating’ as a present verb (ie doing) and it was a positive message. The print was sourced from a First Nations art Collective (to support artists) and the other material (black spots and yellow T) were sourced from Opp Shops.
Nix is a proud Quandamooka woman who is highly creative. I had the idea of decorating my bike in a way that combined the approaches of my previous Art Bike Projects CONS_U_Me Blues with the Kids Bikes are Hard Work …but also it needed to be lightweight, snag-free, and still easy to ride during the event.
We used recycled clothes from Opp Shops to decorate the bike in the colours of the Australian Aboriginal flag (red, black, and yellow) by strapping the frame in red and black with yellow hanging tassels (emulating the flag’s yellow sun) in the middle.
We added a large ball under the seat in the Torres Strait Islander colors.
On the handlebars we had a hint of the theme colous for front-facing reference.
We then decorated the helmet to match.
See the stages of development below.
Archie ‘helping’
Before shot
frame wrapping
Torres Strait decoration
In-progress
helmet decoration
helmet test
It was a great project to collaborate with others and it ticked all the important boxes for me like being based on recycling and sustainable principles, increasing awareness for First Nation experiences, creating a new and original outfit to ride in, supporting the event by dressing up and bringing the good vibes, creating something we collectively made that was low-cost, sustainable, and low-tech, and I got to share quality creative time with people I admire.
A massive, big thank you to Alison and Nix – I love what we co-created!
In the next post, I’ll let you know how the event went.
Dom is a (former) mechanic and (go)karter who lives in the UK.
Five months ago, Dom posted his first Drum & Bass on the bike video.
Dom has a DJ deck set up over the handlebars of his bike, then he turns on his speakers, streams his live set (including him talking on a mic), and cruises around his local surroundings.
He has ridden Cambridge, Uxbridge, Manchester, Marlos, Windsor, Cardiff, Brighton, and several other English cities.
And each time, he is being joined by more and more people for the party ride-along.
Events like this make me happy.
*BOILER ROOM ON BIKES* Drum & Bass On The Bike 10 – LONDON CENTRAL
In a world that is increasingly divisive and exclusionary, having free, public events that people of all ages and stages can enjoy is critical.
While I acknowledge initiatives like this are not perfect and come with issues, I also appreciate the effort and work that goes into making these rides happen.
I love the grassroots, quasi-critical mass, flash mob, bicycle-focused, positive vibe of Dom’s rides.
Kids, families, dogs, and all kinds of people going for a ride together.
Yup – big smiles.
One of my favs is his start of the London Hyde Park Special.
This is one of his earlier ones. Just Dom…. going for a cruise.
I like the gentle lead-in (see video above) where he starts out by himself. He takes his time setting up his gear, he has a chat to a passer-by and then pushes off for an ‘off-the cuff’ roll around London.
Celebrating diversity in bike ridership is a key theme for this blog. This blog actively promotes a fuller range of rider experiences, alternative bike set ups, and projects and events that are inclusive of more-than-the-mainstream-norm kinds of bike riding. Sadly, many of these initiatives do not receive adequate attention and often remain invisible and un(der)recognised. Some examples are:
So I was delighted this year to see rider diversity being represented in one of my favorite annual bike events, the Indian Pacific Wheel Race.
The IndyPac (or IPWR) is an epic, unassisted 5, 550kms adventure ride going from Fremantle to the Sydney Opera House that few attempt. It is the most prestigious bike touring race in Australia. I got especially interested in IndyPac 2017 when my dear friend Jackie Bernardi rode it (only one of seven females). That was also the year the event was cut short after the tragic death of rider Mike Hall.
Each year since, I’ve kept my eye on the IndyPac.
This year, the story of Ed Birt (Chief Operating Officer for The Disability Trust) caught my eye as he was riding to raise funds and awareness for their CycleAbility program. Below is an article about Ed’s IPWR participation, which I found via The Disability Trust news.
There were many aspects of Ed’s approach to the IPWR that stood out for me (balls in just attempting the event itself, but also supporting a good cause, positive awareness raising for greater diversity in ridership, and more) was the terminology shift from Indian Pacific Wheel Race to Indian Pacific Wheel Ride employed in communicating his involvement. I appreciated the subtle vocab shift to focus more on participation as opposed to competition.
Ed Birt and bike. Image: The Disability Trust
With tenacity, tailwinds and a passion for cycling Ed Birt, Chief Operating Officer of The Disability Trust, has successfully completed the Indian Pacific Wheel Ride, a solo unsupported, 5,500km ride ocean-to-ocean across Australia.
Ed, a keen cyclist who recently celebrated his 50th birthday decided to undertake the personal challenge whilst on annual leave and use the experience to raise money to purchase bicycles, tricycles, recumbent bikes and frames to support The Disability Trust’s new CycleAbility program and other existing programs such as Vacation Care and Getaway Saturday.
The course does not follow the most direct route from coast to coast making it a truly memorable adventure through deserts, wine districts, rolling hills, winding coastal roads and tough alpine regions riding through the heart of Australia’s major cities. Starting at Freemantle Lighthouse at 6.22am on Saturday 20 March 2021, nine riders dipped their wheel in the Indian Ocean with the goal of being able to do the same in the Pacific Ocean once reaching Sydney.
After 23 days on the road Ed arrived at the steps of the Sydney Opera House on the 11th of April, cheered on by family, friends and supporters. He was the second rider to complete the challenge with only four completing the race with other participants retiring due to injury or bike issues.
“It’s just empowering to get from A to B under your own steam,” Mr Birt said. “It’s a big country and lots can happen, but I was pretty well-prepared. The bike performed really well,” Mr Birt said.
The highlight for Ed, as well as enjoying the beautiful countryside he travelled through, was the support and generosity of the people he met along the way. Avid “dot watchers”, people tracking the riders online, will often join the cyclists on their own bikes as they head through their towns, providing riders with refreshments or a place to rest.
“There were people who put me up in their homes, or truck drivers who stopped and made me a peanut butter and banana sandwich in the middle of the desert,” Mr Birt said.
Fundraising has surpassed his goal of $10,000 and is over $11,000 with The Figtree Lions Club and Resin Brewing also set to bolster the fundraising with charity events.
The CycleAbility program will be supporting independence, fitness and social inclusion through the use of bicycles as active transport. The program will provide skills, knowledge and safety in using bicycles and Wollongong’s cycling infrastructure.
The empowering CycleAbility program will be facilitated through The Disability Trust’s Sport and Recreation team and will run on the last Saturday of every month commencing 29 May 2021. The program will be run from The Disability Trust’s head office car park in Wollongong (5 Edney Lane Spring Hill) with a focus on
Fun
Skills development
Safety while riding
Bicycle maintenance and repair and
Getting to know the Wollongong Cycle network
100% of funds raised will go towards purchase of equipment for CycleAbility and other The Disability Trust programs.
I have been thinking a lot about what teaching and learning means to me.
I am entering the last year of my bikes-for-education PhD research while continuing to work amidst a range of significant social, political, economic, health and educational changes.
I thought about what informs, sustains and inspires my personal pedagogy – and I am grateful for the opportunities that I have – and the opportunities I get to share with others.
As part of this reflection, I wrote my first ever Teaching and Learning Manifesto.
I did this to identify what was most important to me – a kind of reinforcing personal statement.
It is a public declaration of my educational principles, approaches or intentions.
It was challenging, revealing and reassuring to do – and totally worth it!
My manifesto has 12 leading principles that encapsulate my current approach to teaching and learning.
My manifesto outlines what and how I co-create my educational passion.
I will update it regularly to incorporate changes over time.
Below is my Teaching and Learning Manifesto (2021).
Innovative technology is increasingly being applied to bike riding to address some very pressing issues, such as increasing bike participation and rider safety.
Previously I’ve posted on the pioneering work of Griffith researchers working on the world’s first ‘thought-control’ bicycle for spinal injury rehab (see more here). This story details Dr. Dinesh Palipana who is a Griffith University medical graduate. Dinesh became a quadriplegic after a car accident partway through his medical degree. Despite this, Dinesh completed his degree and has since been collaborating with a Griffith research team on the world’s-first integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation recline bike that will enable quadriplegics to use ‘thought control’ to ride a specially adapted bike. This project uses ground-breaking 3D computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves that then stimulates movement that not only push the pedals for him but also helps revitalise is neuro pathways for eventually recovery.
I recently came across an article written last year by Timna Jacks for the Sydney Morning Herald that looked at a ‘mind-reading- bicycle designed to save lives by improving riders’ safety. I was particularly curious about this article as the researchers were using e-bikes in this case Timna makes links with the unprecedented surge in bike use due to COVID-19 – something we have all noticed. So, if you missed this article, I’ve included it in full below.
The ‘mind-reading’ bicycle that could save lives
Cycling in Melbourne might seem a dangerous game, but what if the bike was so intuitive that it could detect when you were in danger and manoeuvre you to safety?
Researchers at Monash University, IBM Australia and the University of Southampton in the UK have invented an e-bicycle which they claim can “read” people’s minds and detect when a cyclist is in danger.
The electroencephalogram-supported e-bike prototype, built by the researchers over more than a year, scans the electrical activity in the cyclist’s brain to detect the nature of the rider’s field of view.
An EEG electrode cap measuring electrical signals in the cyclist’s occipital lobe, the visual processing area of the brain, feeds into a small computer in their backpack, which converts the signals from brain activity to instructions for the bike’s engine.
If the rider’s peripheral vision is narrow – a neurological response when a cyclist detects a danger ahead such as a car cutting them off or an obstruction to a bike path – the bike’s accelerator halts. The cyclist can still move forward by pushing the pedals, albeit more slowly.
Conversely, if the rider has a wide peripheral vision because there is no threat in sight, the bike accelerates.
Changes in peripheral awareness are often linked to a person’s awareness of their surroundings, and their physical performance and co-ordination.
Researchers at Monash, IBM and University of Southampton Josh Andres said cycling accidents often occurred at intersections where cyclists needed a heightened awareness of their environment.
He wanted to find a technology that gave riders extra time in critical situations, but instead of outsourcing this skill, he wanted to build a technology that helped riders connect more with their bodies.
This e-bike, named Ena, would provide a feedback loop for cyclists, enabling them to improve their peripheral vision.
“This is a problem right now. Many of the technologies we are building are teaching us how to outsource how we feel, whereas we should try to be more in touch with our bodies, more in tune with our bodies,” Mr Andres said.
He has previously built e-bikes that connect the bike’s motor to traffic light signals and instruct the cyclist to speed up or slow down.
Monash University researcher Floyd Mueller said the new bike was aimed at boosting people’s confidence in cycling, allowing them to feel in control.
“We know from good cyclists that they talk about how they become one with the bike … what this technology allows is for the cyclist to be an extension of their body. The bike knows when the cyclist is in danger or having fun without being explicitly told.”
Cycling is having an unprecedented surge in popularity because of the COVID-19 lockdown. A Bicycle Network count of 8800 riders on April 25 showed the number had increased by 270 per cent compared with November last year.
But Uber this week confirmed that its shared e-bike outfit Jump would be taken over by Lime and pulled off Melbourne’s streets, in line with similar moves overseas.
The program launched in early March and paused three weeks later as COVID-19 lockdowns began.
It is understood the decision was made in the face of financial strain wrought by the virus, with the company reportedly expected to lay off more than 100 Australian employees as part of its major global job cuts.
But not many people know that March 21st was the UN International Day of Forests.
So to commemorate both Women’s Month and Day of the Forests, I put the call out to three inspiring female friends (Nix, Alex and Wendy) who work to improve gender and environmental imperatives – and invited them to come for a night-time ride along our bayside foreshore to visit the ‘Tree of Light’ to honour the ‘every tree counts’ key theme for this year’s Day of Forests.
And so we did – and we had a great time!
It was low-key, colourful and super fun.
I let them know I was dressing up and they were welcome to join me if they wanted to. I know dressing up is not everyone’s jam – but they all arrived at my place dressed up as well! Not only was this a way to have fun, but it was also a subversive ‘up-yours’ to social expectations of what is ‘appropriate’ for a woman to wear in public and traditional views of women dressing ‘properly’ and ‘conservatively’.
My idea was to go for a night ride ‘reclaim the night/bike path’ style. I deliberately arranged our departure for 7.30 pm – when it was ‘darkly’ – and after dinner – a time most women are socially trained to stay in as it is ‘not safe’ to be out at night.
There were four of us for this ride. On the ride were myself and the formidable Nix (who you might remember from the New Materialists Garden – PhD Retreat), as well as Wendy and Alex, who are two of ‘Green Aunties’ from my community garden. Both Wendy and Alex are in their legacy years and rode pedal-assist bikes.
Nina & Leki (L), Nix, Alex and Wendy (R)
Time for a chat
Alex cruising in style
Wendy and her ‘climate emergency response vehicle’ (bike)
Nix was resplendent!
Nina and Leki (flower bike) en route
Celebrating Women’s Month and Day of the Forests at our local ‘Tree of Light’.
Bight bike path lights
Leki’s caboose in the gloaming
Not so darkly female bike riders!
As if the aunties weren’t brave enough doing this ride, I also found out just before we left that Wendy and Alex had never been for a night ride before. This was a big win for women-them-us-community claiming public space – at night – in a super positive and direct way!
It was a stunning evening – clear, warm and inviting. The moon was out and our community was safe and welcoming.
We saw a few people as we started out, but the more we rode, the less people there were about until we saw no one on our return trip at all. We had the whole place to ourselves! While we rode we discussed what it felt like to be ‘out alone’ and ‘roaming the streets.
It was brilliant!
We rode 6kms along the foreshore, then stopped at the ‘The Tree of Lights’ to have a break where we joked, enjoyed, paid homage to women’s month – and trees and forests. Then I rode my guests happily home.
Our ride was a small, but wonderfully personal way to honour and celebrate sisterhood, forests, and being free to ride our bikes wherever and whenever we want to.
If you have not been out for night ride recently – I highly recommend it.
Grab a mate and your bikes and go visit a tree in your area!
Happy riding!
Key messages of the UN International Day of Forests
The UN are promoting 8 key messages for the 2021 International Day of Forests:
Healthy forests mean healthy people.
Forests provide health benefits for everyone, such as fresh air, nutritious foods, clean water, and space for recreation. In developed countries, up to 25 percent of all medicinal drugs are plant-based; in developing countries, the contribution is as high as 80 percent.
Forest food provides healthy diets.
Indigenous communities typically consume more than 100 types of wild food, many harvested in forests. A study in Africa found that the dietary diversity of children exposed to forests is at least 25 percent higher than that of children who are not. Forest destruction, on the other hand, is unhealthy – nearly one in three outbreaks of emerging infectious disease are linked to land-use change such as deforestation.
Restoring forests will improve our environment.
The world is losing 10 million hectares of forest – about the size of Iceland – each year, and land degradation affects almost 2 billion hectares, an area larger than South America. Forest loss and degradation emit large quantities of climate-warming gases, and at least 8 percent of forest plants and 5 percent of forest animals are at extremely high risk of extinction. The restoration and sustainable management of forests, on the other hand, will address the climate-change and biodiversity crises simultaneously while producing goods and services needed for sustainable development.
Sustainable forestry can create millions of green jobs.
Forests provide more than 86 million green jobs and support the livelihoods of many more people. Wood from well-managed forests supports diverse industries, from paper to the construction of tall buildings. Investment in forest restoration will help economies recover from the pandemic by creating even more employment.
It is possible to restore degraded lands at a huge scale.
The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative, launched by the African Union in 2007, is the most ambitious climate-change adaptation and mitigation response under implementation worldwide. It seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequester 250 million tonnes of carbon and create 10 million green jobs by 2030, while greening landscapes in an 8 000 km belt across Africa’s drylands. Vast areas of degraded land elsewhere would also become highly productive again if restored with local tree species and other vegetation.
Every tree counts.
Small-scale planting and restoration projects can have big impacts. City greening creates cleaner air and more beautiful spaces and has huge benefits for the mental and physical health of urban dwellers. It is estimated that trees provide megacities with benefits worth USD 0.5 billion or more every year by reducing air pollution, cooling buildings and providing other services.
Engaging and empowering people to sustainably use forests is a key step towards positive change.
A healthy environment requires stakeholder engagement, especially at the local level so that communities can better govern and manage the land on which they depend. Community empowerment helps advance local solutions and promotes participation in ecosystem restoration. There is an opportunity to “rebuild” forest landscapes that are equitable and productive, and that avert the risks to ecosystems and people posed by forest destruction.
We can recover from our planetary, health and economic crisis. Let’s restore the planet this decade.
Investing in ecosystem restoration will help in healing individuals, communities and the environment. The aim of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which starts this year, is to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It offers the prospect of putting trees and forests back into degraded forest landscapes at a massive scale, thereby increasing ecological resilience and productivity. Done right, forest restoration is a key nature-based solution for building back better and achieving the future we want.
Over the last decade, there has been an influx in the use of bicycles in mainstream civil services. Some examples of these I have shared previously include:
Another project that has caught my eye is a Sri Lankan community bike policing program. I’m interested because Sri Lanka is such a vastly different context to the West – and it has a volatile history and relationships between community and police are often strained.
So I have dedicated the next few posts tracing the development of this program. I’m using articles written by locals and those who are closer to, and more knowledgeable about Sri Lanka than I am.
For some background, below is an article written in 2012 by Gita Sabharwal*, who was the Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Sri Lanka. The Asia Foundation funded this project to start in 2009 and this early article by Gita provides some historical context and personal experience to set the scene.
As an active supporter for greater diversity and to support the work, exposure and voice for more non-European female professionals, I’ve included Gita’s article in full below as she originally wrote it and emphasis is my own.
Enjoy!
Bicycle Patrols Rebuild Trust Between Sri Lanka’s Police and Communities
Still recovering from the effects of a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009, Sri Lanka is now seeing hopeful signs that one of its deepest wounds – the relationship between the police and the community – is improving.
During the war, police were often preoccupied with counter-insurgency and national security. As a result, mistrust between communities and the police force grew, particularly in the North and East where police often viewed community members as potential threats to security, as opposed to a constituency they serve.
For years, much of the interaction between the general public and the police has occurred at police stations when citizens reported a crime and at vehicle checkpoints, where most identity checks are performed. But, with the end of the war in 2009, police service is gradually making the shift from a “securitized” form of policing to a community-oriented one. As part of its larger institutional reform initiative, the leadership of the Sri Lanka Police Service (SLPS) is set on making the police a more professional and “people-friendly” service.
As part of this initiative, 43 cities and towns in the North, East, South, and Uva have over the last eight months introduced bicycle patrolling to improve community-police relationships, deter petty crimes, and offer citizens the opportunity to interact with police officers positively in public places. While patrolling has historically been a part of the Sri Lankan policing system, community policing emphasizes the importance of engaging with citizens while on patrol to become better known throughout the community, stay informed about local activities, and be available to receive complaints or give advice.
Recently, the deputy inspector general of Uva Province told me that he has found bicycle patrolling to be a cost-effective and efficient way to increase access and mobility of the police to more remote areas, which often lack roads that can be navigated by patrol cars. With greater interaction with communities, the police are also able to gather information about local crime and conflicts and identify “hot-spots” so that they can increase patrols in those locations. Some community members who we interviewed said that they are now able to not only access the police during routine patrols, but also avoid the daunting task of visiting police stations to report crimes.
In northern Vavuniya town, since November 2011, 12 police officers have been assigned to the more populated parts of town for bicycle patrolling. Local sergeant Gunawardena said that he along with three other police officers bicycle through the densely populated lanes and by-lanes of the market area of Vavuniya town from two in the afternoon to 10 at night.
Since the end of the war, cases of petty theft have been on the increase in Vavuniya, due in part to better reporting and the return to normal policing functions, including investigation of complaints lodged with the police. The Inspector of Police, Ranatunga, who leads the bicycle patrol project in Vavuniya, said he believes that as a result of regular patrolling, fear of crime has reduced among citizens who now feel a greater sense of safety and security.
Local citizens and police interviewed in Vavuniya agreed that conducting bicycle patrols helps develop relationships, deter petty crimes, and offer citizens the opportunity to interact with local police officers.
In these small town and cities, bicycle patrolling also helps deter minor and major crimes due to increased police contact with the public and faster response time and capability. It allows police officers to respond to emergency calls quickly and be present at the crime scene in real time. One community member in Matara, where four constables and sergeants have been patrolling the streets over the past six months, recently told me: “I experienced a sharp reduction in pick-pocketing due to the regular presence of police, and we’ve seen a development of better relations between the police and community … the officers travel on bicycles, we also travel on bicycles.”
Image: Sri Lankan Police
The officer-in-charge of Ambalangoda police station recently described a situation where the police were able to arrive quickly to a crime scene and arrest a suspect that was later found to be involved in over 25 illegal activities. He echoes a common sentiment: “The resources for the police are limited, but still we are trying to cover a large area. Because of this, we started the bicycle project, where we can patrol night and day, in the city and suburbs.”
The deputy inspector general of Uva Province recalled a story from earlier this year of three constables who were cycling down the main street in Buttala town late evening as part of their regular patrolling routine. The bus en-route from the capital, Colombo, stopped at the bus station on the way to Moneragala. A single passenger got off the bus, and seemed shocked upon seeing police constables around. Noticing his uneasiness, one of the constables approached him. Before they could strike a conversation the passenger pepper-sprayed the constables and tried to run away. However, alert onlookers caught him in time. When he was taken to the police station, the officers realized that he was part of a small criminal gang and was planning operations in the area, which the local police were able to intercept, thanks to the bicycle patrols.
With Sri Lanka’s tumultuous war-time period over, and the once highly securitized environment relaxing, this initiative allows the police to rebuild their relationships with the community, instilling trust and confidence among citizens that they can provide them with safety and security in their day-to-day lives.
For more information on the bicycle patrolling initiative, watch a video, produced by The Asia Foundation in partnership with the Sri Lanka Police Service with the support of the British High Commission, on the Sri Lanka Police website.
